Hue to Hoi An

Amazing day today, decided to take the motorbike tour to Hoi An and so glad we did, cost us an extra $16 (pfft) and took an extra 3 hours but got the feeling today we experienced more of Vietnam in a few hours than most people do in a few weeks.

On 'er bike

We left Hue at about 9am - have to say we both enjoyed the city a lot - and headed towards Hoi An, we were immediately glad that we had decided against the bus, although the day started off gloomy and I was worried about rain it was warm and I was happy not to be stuck on another stinking bus. We headed out, driving for around an hour and a half until we reached our first stop, Elephant Springs, a small lagoon next to a waterfall which ran down from the mountains which are a prominent feature of the road to Hoi An. The water was clean, clear and refreshing after the dusty roads.

Scenery on Hway 1

An hour or so later we began to climb the mountains and went through the first of the three passes on our journey, the windy roads and steep edges meant that I dropped the attemp to go native and held on to the bike withboth hands, I'll admit I closed my eyes once or twice too but our drivers were skilled and didnt really give us any frights on the trip. The mountains were amazing and from the misty tops of them we had great views over Danang and the surrounding bay. There were bunkers on the hills above Danang which we stopped at, we saw a fat American who by some miracle had managed to puff his way up there by bicycle, that was a sight but so were the bunkers, both the American concrete pillboxes and the classier, but less effective, French brick towers.

Elephant Springs

We sped down the mountains and through Danag which was a mix of Soviet style, grim housing blocks and massive, half built resorts on the many beaches surrounding the city. A quick stop in the village around the marble mountains where big statues of Buddha, the Virgin Mary and dolphins are carved out of the nearby cliffs and we were on the last leg of our journey.

We arrived in Hoi An around 4.30 pm and our driver, Nam showed us to a tailor he knew. Within about 5 minutes we were being measured up for suits and she was encouraging me to buy 10 because its would make more sense for someone on a budget. Stuggling to see her logic i decided on a more modest 2, plus some other stuff and Jen got a dress which we have to get measured up for again tomorrow. We said goodby to Nam over dinner in the towns old quarter which looks very pretty by night, looking forward to seeing it tomorrow.

Danang

usb not working, photos tomorrow

The final mountain pass

Fishing boat, China beach

Obligatory paddy shot for the day

Nam - Our driver